The nine most popular areas that people searched for a new property in this September all have populations of under 11,000, shows new data from Rightmove.
It adds that all the places where searches have doubled since September 2019 have been small towns and villages, whereas on average, searches have moved up 53 per cent in the UK’s ten biggest cities.
The biggest increase in buyer searches over the last 12 months – up 130 per cent – was Lightwater in Surrey which, according to the 2011 census, houses 7,000 people.
Bruton in Somerset came next, with an increase in interest of 128 per cent in the 12 months to September 2020. Here lived 2,907 people in 2011.
Third was Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, where 2,288 people lived in 2011, with a 111 per cent rise in buyer searches noted by Rightmove.
Additionally, the biggest increase in agreed sales from September 2019 to September 2020 at 179 per cent was in Dartmouth, Devon, which had a population of 6.822 at last count.
St. Ives in Cornwall saw a 170 per cent growth in agreed sales over the same time frame and had a population of 11,226 and Buckhurst Hill in Essex came next, at 164 per cent more agreed sales amid an 11,380 strong population, Rightmove adds.
Rightmove director of property data Tim Bannister says: “Back in May when the market reopened in England, we wondered how long the desire to move to the country or to smaller towns and villages would last.
“It’s clear that this short-term shift has turned into a medium-term trend, as our data is showing that home hunters looking at what’s available are also turning into serious buyers putting in offers.
“There are a number of likely drivers of this change. Some buyers are now more willing to have a country commute a few times a week, and others are preparing for social distancing to be here for quite some time yet, and so are being drawn to places with more outdoor space.
“Housing markets in some of the biggest cities are still busier than this time last year as the quiet life definitely isn’t for everyone, but they’re not seeing the same surge as these smaller areas.”
